Above all else, there are two things that can be learned from the gritty new cop drama "Street Kings." The first: Forest Whitaker is one of the finest actors working today. The second: Keanu Reeves is not.

Where Whitaker, when given the opportunity, manages to make something interesting out of writer-director David Ayer's disappointing script, combining creative delivery with charm and intensity, Keanu Reeves -- well, he pretty much Keanu Reeves-es it.

That is to say his performance is steeped in his characteristic lack of inspiration, his predictable delivery, and an at-times laughable flatness. (And while I'm piling on, do I see the first hint of a double chin in the not-as-youthful-as-you-probably-remember Reeves?)

In fact, here's an idea, Hollywood: Next time you want to pour millions into a solidly average cop drama, give the lead role to Whitaker -- you know, the guy with the Oscar in his trophy case, for "The Last King of Scotland" -- and relegate Reeves to secondary status. Then you might have something.

Otherwise, you'll likely end up with another version of countless other cop dramas, which is exactly what the watchable but unremarkable "Street Kings" is.

Set at the intersection of street-level drug dealers, police corruption and the deep, dark secrets of powerful men, the film -- Ayer's second feature ("Harsh Times" was his first) -- has Reeves playing Tom Ludlow, a maverick LAPD supercop. Whitaker is his boss, Capt. Wander, who keeps the department brass off Ludlow's back so he can do what he does best: take down bad guys.

Sure, Ludlow often strays into questionable ethical territory -- i.e., torture -- when bringing down the baddies, but to him the end justifies the means when it comes to keeping the streets clean.

Troublingly, Ayer tries to get his audience on board with that mentality, such as when Ludlow beats a potential informant with a phone book, or tangles another in razor wire, to extract information. (What, no waterboarding?) Even more troublingly, many members of the audience at a preview screening this week in Kenner seemed like they were on board, laughing all the way.

Ayer, who built his name as the writer of the superior rogue-cop film "Training Day, " also has stocked the often predictable "Street Kings" with all the trappings of a cookie-cutter police drama. There's Reeves' lone-wolf cop, there's the ex-partner with a grudge, and of course there's a heartless internal affairs jerk -- they're always, always heartless jerks -- who is sniffing around our hero.

In this case, the jerk is Hugh Laurie -- who makes an entrance "House" fans are bound to appreciate -- and he's one of a number of notables nicely cast in peripheral roles in "Street Kings." Among them: comics Jay Mohr and Cedric the Entertainer, rappers The Game and Common, and actors John Corbett ("Northern Exposure") and Chris Evans ("The Fantastic 4").

Still, all that talent, and all the rich production values, are mostly wasted in "Street Kings." There's a moment late in the movie when it feels as if it's going to redeem itself, at least partially, but even then, that third-act revelation becomes entangled in a confusing mishmash of messages.

Sure, "Street Kings" has its moments of intensity, of nicely choreographed, heart-pounding action -- a lot of them, in fact. But then, so does TV's ride-along reality pioneer "Cops, " and at least that show has some heart and an air of authenticity to go along with all that adrenaline.